Method of and apparatus for measuring electric currents.



PATENTED MAY 1'4, 1907. 0. T. BLATH'Y. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING ELEOTRIG GURRENTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 10, 1905.

3 S EETSSHBET1.

No. 853,216. PATENTED MAY 14, 0. BLKTHY. I

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MBA$URING ELECTRIC GURRENTS.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG.1( 1905.

' 3 SHEETS SHEET 2 853.216. 7 PATENTED MAY 14, 1907.

I O. T. BLATHY.- METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING ELECTRIC UURRBNTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 10, 1905.

a SHEETS-SHEIT 3. $3420.

OTTO' TITUS B ATHY, or BUniiPFis i, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING ELECTRIC CURRENTS=.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented May 14, 1907.

Application filed August 10, 1905. Serial No. 273,546.

To on whom, it Duty (XIII/(16PM:

Be it known that I, ()T'ro TrrUs BLATHY, a subject of the King ot-llungar residing at Lovohaz utcza 39, Budapest, l ungary, have invented certain new and useful lmprove.

ments in Methods of and Apparatus for Measuring Electric Currents, of w neh the following is a specification.

My present improvement relates to appa ratus in which a magnetic field in an iron or equivalent core, proportional to the magnetizing force applied thereto is desirable through a wide range, and particularly to apparatus for measuring electric currents, and it'consists in certain novel methods and in certain novel parts and combinations of parts particularly pointed out in the claims concluding these specifications.

Referring to the drawing, Figures 1 and 3 show curves showing the e'll'ect-ive magnetic intensity of certain circuits and combinations of circuits. Fig. 2 is a curve illustrating thceli'cct of the invention upon the accuracy of the meter; Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively diagramnuttic elevation and lanol' a meter constructed in accordance wit 1 the invention; Fig. 6 is a perspective diagrammatic illustration oi-a modified lorln; Fig. 7

is a detail thereof; Figs. 8, S), 10, Hand 12 are detail views of other lnodilied forms; l ig. 13 is a diagrammatic plan view of a meter showing the application of the invention with a (lirect current measuring instrument.

In electric measuring apparatus in which the action ol' th y magnetic field produced by the current to be measured is utilized for determining the strength'or intensity of the current, the intensity of said lield should vary in exact proportion to the intensity or strength oi". the current -to be measured. This condition is i'ullilled when the field contains no iron -or. in other words, is produced in air merely. When iron is used, t to intensity of the magnetic field does not vary in exact proporl ion to the intensity or strength ol' current to be measured.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings, the abscisszecorrespond to thcnumber ol' ampere turns and the ordinates to the corresponding intensity of field. The curve A represents the condition when there is no iron in the circu t. The curve B represents the condition when the circuit iseomposed entirely of wrought iron. The curve H represents the condition when the circuit is composed 5 5 partly of iron and partly of air. It will be seen that in the curve 11 only the portion between wy shows a condition of approximate pro )ortionality. As the measuring power of t e apparatus upward is always limited, it

can be so arranged that the highest measurement will not be, above the point p; but the measuring requirement cannot be conveniently limited downward (especially in apparatus for'measuring consumption of current) to such an extent as to make the lowest measurement remain above the point 01:, since that point is situated considerably higher than the smallest intensity of currents which must be measured. apparatus is *also considerably less below the limit of proportionality, 00. The inaccuracy of a meter in which the lines of force pass partly through iron and partly through air 18 shown in a still more striking mannen'm' Fig. 2, in which the abscissae represent the intensity of current and the ordinates the proportion between the exciting field and the intensity of CllI'Itilt-tltttt is to say, the value generally designated as the constant, or the reading factor, of the apparatus. In this figure the curve shows the variation of the coellicient of the measuring apparatus with the intensity of current, and the cross hatched surface shows the deviation from the ideal state in which thereatling i'actonis a. constant value for the whole range of measurement.

()wing to tho lacts above set forth, the use ol' iron in electric meters, more particularly those used lor measuring the. (ainsumption of continuous current, has, in some cases, been discoidinucd; lut the result hasvbeen that the flielrl has been considerably 'Otthtlittl and ,a great number ol' ampere turns required to obtain the desired strength ol held. In apparatus for measuring alternating current the use of iron cannot, as a rule, be dispensedwith and large air gaps have been employed tor the purpose of reducing the inaccuracy oi theinstrument, resulting in a considerably 1:0

weakened lield without the error being satisl'actorily eliminated.

My present invention relates to a device for maintaining pro mrtionality down to a;

lower limit of measurement, without discontinuing the use of iron or other magnetic ma- The sensitivcncs's of the 70 pere turns and the ordinates to the intensity terial, and without increasing the size of the air gap. To accomplish this result, I eniploy a saturation of which is -reached at approxi mately that intensit of current at which the original uncorrecte field begins to be approximately in fixed propprtion to the intensity of the exciting current. The effect of such an arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 3, in which the abscissae correspond, to the amof the field.

H is the lower portion of the curve H shown in Fig. 1, but drawn to amuch larger portionality, aarbi the main field H. T. ese

two fields combine to form one resultant field represented by the curve R, the limit of proportionality of which is at 22,, which is quite close to the zero point. If this latter limit of proportionality is still within the 1ntensities that, ought to be measured it can 'be further reduced by providing another correction field which will become saturated when the intensity of the current corresponds, say, to the proportionality limit 3a,.

Inrmost cases it is, however, sufficient to pro vide only one correction field.

My invention can be applied to any apparatus in which a magnetic field proportional to the current strength should be provided,

. as, for instance, in measuring 'mstruments such as ammete'rs, but as my improvements 1 are of especial importance in the building of 5 the Ferraris type. Such alternating current integrating meters such as ampere-hour or watt-hour meters thev invention is shown in Figs. 4 to 13 applied to'such meters and in Figs. 4 to 1217012 ternating current meters of meters consist substantially of a revolving disk, a field excited by the main current and a shunt field, said main current and shunt field being disposed respectively to each other in a manner to developin the disk eddy currents reacting on said fields, and produc ing thereby a torque causin said. disk to rotate. A variety of forms '0 such meters are shown in a former patent issued to me No.

My invention may be embodied in many diflerentforms of meters, several of which are illustrated in Figs. 4 to 12 in the accomsecond'magnetic circuit, the limit of .to 12. in Fi 6 panying drawings, which showapparatus 9'1:- measuring alternating currents using an iii-- duction disk, andin Fig. 13, whirl! shoes a construction of apparatus i'ormeasuring rontinuous current, using a drum llllllillun'. I

ing disk of the meter, 1 is an electro-magnet excited by the main current and producing the main field, 11 is the usual shunt electromagnet of relatively high inductance are cited by the pressure of the current, 12 is a permanent magnet for retarding the revolt I ing disk. The, respective actions of the electro-rnagnets 1 and .1] will cause the disk 10 to. revolve. The frame and base plate sup orting the different parts, the bearings of t is shaft of the revolving disk well as i the registering mechanism are not shown in the drawing. 2 is the magnet producing the correction field. 'lhe coreof the magnet has, at certain portions, as at a reduced. cross section, whereby the saturation of the field produced by this magnet at comparatively weak currents is eilected: By suitably cl'ioosing the material forthc core the cross-section length of the sections 3, :5 the area of the pole surfaces 4, 4 and thc'length of the air-gap between said surfaces, the

curve C (Fig. 3) of the correction field can be oetcrxnined togive the desired result.

Instead of using an independent electro magnetfor producing the correction field, the

electromagnet core in the main field may be utilized for this purpose, as shown in Figs. 6 the correction field is pro duced by the angle-plate 5, 5 secured to the poles of the main field magnet 1. The hoi zontal portions 4, l of tl'iese angle-plates con.- stitute the ole faces and these are connected to the vertical'parts by narrow bridges 3, 3. 4 In Fig. 6 the arrangement of the magnets is SlIOWII. in perspective view. 1!. is the shunbmagnet and" 12 the braking permanent magnet.

Fig. 7 slmws a detail View oi the main field magnet of 6 the revolving disk being indicated in dotted lines.

Instead of pllacin the main field. and. the

correction field side 3y side, as shown'in Fig.

7, they may be superimposed one upon the other, as shown in Figs. '8 to 13. In Fig. 8 the plate 4 is connected to the pole of the magnet 1 by means ofa narrow bridge or strip 3. If (lt'SllTll, the plates can be arranged on both pole surfaces, as shown in Fig.- 9.

Referring to Fig. 10, (i, 6 are blocks of some magnetically indiliercnt material-such, for instance as brass, copper, vulcanized fiber, or

lacc of the sesame 4 surfaces to increase the strength of the structure and diminish the liability of the correction pole faces being distorted or bent. Figs.

11 and 12 illustrate the application of my invention to a series of magnets in which the lines of force pass through' air gaps at two or more points, the correction field-being formed, in the example illustrated; by iron strips 7 containingnarrow bridges3, formed by piercing said strip 7 by a hole 8.

In Fig. 11 it will be observed that the lefthand bridge 3 is considerably thicker and longer than the right-hand bridge 3. The dimensions of the former are made so as to correspond to a correction field' of the first order and the dimensions of the latter are made to correspond to a correction field-of the second order. In this way the limit of proportionality, as above described, is car: ried down still farther in the curve B, Fig. 3. Similarly the bridges of the other figures may be proportioned to give correction fields of different orders, if desired. As the bridges would, in somelcases, if made of iron, have to be so thin as to be diflicult to manufacture or too fragile, they may be made, in Whole or in part, or some other magnetic material of less permeability than ironsuch, for instance, as nickel, cobalt, or some of the para-magnetic alloys.

Fig. 13' shows a meter for measuring the consumption of continuous current rovided with a drum armature 9 and with eld'coils 13, 13 having iron cores 14. In front of the pole surfaces of the iron part are arranged correction pole plates .4, 4 connected to the iron cores by thin bridges 3.-

Having thus described my invention in forms which are at present preferred by me, it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the apparatus and that the principles of the invention may be-applied to analogous uses without departing from the spirit of my invention p and without exceeding the scope of my claims.

1. The method of producing a magnetic field substantially proportional to the magneto-motive-force applied to magnetic ma- .-terial througha wide range of variation,

which consists in producing difierent intensities of magnetization in said material for given magnetc-motive-forces, thereby varying the permeability of certain parts inversely with the variation of other parts, as the applied niagneto-motive-force varies.

2. T hc method cl producing a magnetic held in a core composed of magnetic material substantially proportional to the strength of the inagncto-nrotive-forcc applied 1; iereto, which consists in working difl'erent parts of said core at dill'erent intensities of magnetization and thereby causing the permeability of certain parts to vary inversely with the variation of other {38,115,118 the magneto-motive force varies.

i 3. The method of approximating the effect of constant permeability of the field of a device containing magnetic material which consists of varying the permeability of one portion of the magnetic'material inversely to variations of permeability in other portions.

4. The method of approximating the effect of constant permeability of the field of a magnet having a core composed of mag netic' material which consists of varying the permeability of one portion of the core inversely to variations of permeability of other portions of said core by working said por tions at different magnetic densities.

5. The method of approximating the effect of constant permeability of the field of a magnet havin a core composed of-magnetic material whic consists in magnetizing one portion of thecoreto a higher de ee than another portion and causing the ormer to approach saturationas the latter. approaches the range of densityof approximately constant ermeability.

6. he method of producing a magnetic field substantially proportioned to a given variable magnetizing force which consists of magnetizing one portion of the magnetic circuit to a higher degree than another portion and causin the former to approach saturation when the latter a proaches the condition of constant permeabilit 7. In an instrument ibr measuring electric current, a rotatable portion, a magnetizing the field intensities produced by the latter to be proportional to the current over any desired range.

5 8; In an electric meter the combinationwith the rotatable arts thereof of a core of magnetic material aving portions of different cross-sections such that saturation is aproached in one portion suificiently earlier than in another portion to cause compensating variations in permeability tending to give the eliect of constant permeability.

9. .In a measuring apparatus depending upon proportionality of effective magnetic field to current for its accuracy, a magnetic core portion producing a field substantially proportional to current through one ran e and portion containing iron, and means for causng a core ortion arranged to compensate orthe lack o proportionality through a lower range,

and having its saturation point occurrin at about the same current at which the t pos'iiam an m0 current iiJld'IIJERJlS for purtion b0 saturate at 11%: whivh the Zutnsity of Mm Em, .-;ub;-;t-anbia1 proporto have a higher magnetic 1 name to this specification in the presence (if two subscribing witnqsses.

OTTO TITUS BLATHY.

Witnesses EUGENE HARRANY, 1 JOSEPH J. PIERANDO. 

